This invention relates to angle stations in or for endless conveyor belts.
An angle station has one horizontal upper and one horizontal lower roller bank around which an endless belt passes to change its direction on an upper material carrying run and on a lower return run.
In theory, the angle at which each roller bank lies in the station is normal to the line which bisects the individually related incoming and outgoing runs of the belt for each bank and therefore the roller banks would always lie normal to each other. For conveyor belts which enter and leave the station at 90.degree. deflection, there is no problem regarding roller bank dimensions.
However, if the angle of deflection becomes obviously obtuse on the lower bank, this angle would be such as to require a bank of substantially increased length to accommodate the extra surface contact of the belt-wrap around the bank. In addition a lower bank of increased length would not permit interchangeability of the banks for `handing` the units, i.e. altering the direction of entry of the upper run and consequently the co-linear direction of exit of the lower return run from one side of the station to the opposite side.
An object of the present invention therefore is to provide an angle station which allows for angles of entry of 90.degree. and also practical obtuse angles, e.g. up to about 145.degree..
Another object of the invention is to provide an angle station which can accommodate a change in the angle of entry of the belt.
An angle station is known from Canadian Pat. No. 1 150 662 in which upper and lower parallel shell slide blocks (roller banks) can be changed angularly within limits, the shell slide block having legs which stand in horizontal arcuate slotted bars attached to the sides of a framework. Such an arrangement appears incapable of withstanding the forces likely to be exerted on the shell slide block by a loaded conveyor.